B2B Invoice Collection

6 Essential Steps

For Timely

Considering the dramatic impact accounts receivable can have on your bottom line, B2B invoice collection is not a task to be taken lightly.

Accounts receivable is likely one of your most important assets & should be treated as such; with a specific and methodical process to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks…

…So here are 6 steps every collector must do to ensure

positive customer relationships.

healthy cash flow.

successful B2B invoice collection.

Step One: Sending the Invoice

It seems simple. But you’d be surprised at how often tiny invoice mistakes lead to bigger problems.

Image

Be prompt.

The sooner the customer has the invoice, the sooner they can process it.

Make sure the invoice is completeInclude all of the information your customers need to pay you, such as:• Order information• Amount due• Due date• Terms• When/where/how/ who they will pay

49% of invoice disputes

are caused by missing or incorrect

information

11% of invoices are

paid late because the

customer never actually received

the invoice

Check customer contactinfo regularly

Internal shifts in the company, physical relocations, and other factors will impact the accuracy of your contacts. Be sure to always ask the best contact information for their accounting department.

Learn More AboutAvoiding Invoice Disputes Here:

Click to Download

Step Two: Confirm Invoice Delivery

Did your customer receive the invoice? Do they have any questions?

If there is a problem with the invoice, your customer is likely to just put it aside and deal with it later. If you call to follow-up, you can answer their questions right away and help them submit payment sooner.

Many customers may need a reminder or two before they get around to sending payment. A majority of your customers want and mean to pay the invoice, but they forget, are having cash flow problems, lost the invoice, etc.

A friendly call, letter, or email may be all they need. Be sure to remind them a  before the due date.

Step Three: Keep in Touch

Remember: There are many different types of communications, and timing is everything.

This resource has everything you need to know, suggestions, communication templates, and call scripts to help you do make the most out of each and every customer communication.

Click to Download

Step Four: Ask About Late Payment

If your customer has still not submitted payment after the due date, something may be wrong. If it is a new customer or one who is usually a problem, you may want to escalate this invoice. If it’s a customer who has been around for a long time or is generally quick to pay, there may be an unusual circumstance you can help them with.

Either way, in this stage you should get in contact with them. Remain friendly and professional, find out why they still have not paid you, and figure out how you can fix this problem together.

Step Five: Apply Pressure

If you find that your invoice was received, the information was correct, there are no atypical circumstances, the product or service was provided, and your customer is still not paying, it’s time to get a little more forceful with your collection efforts. 

Be firm, but don’t cross the line

Step Six: Escalate the AccountYou’ve done everything you can, and the invoice still has not been paid. At this point, the chances of you ever getting paid are pretty slim, and it may be time to start thinking of turning things over to a collection agency.

Before doing so, have your management level employee contact the customer, review with them all of the steps your company has taken to collection this debt, and give them a final chance and a deadline, if they do not pay by XXX this will be turned over to a collections agency.

To be effective in B2B invoice collection, you need to take each and every one of these steps…

…for each and every one of your invoices!

…and that is where things can get overwhelming.

When you have a large number of orders and invoices, it’s hard to find the time to take all of the above steps while also managing invoice disputes and other critical tasks.

Here’s the good news…

There is a better way to get paid faster

by automating

important & time consuming tasks

 Accounts receivable automation allows you to put B2B invoice collection on auto-pilot and eliminate the more time consuming steps in this process such as:

• Prioritizing collector tasks • sending reminder letters• tracking aging• running reports• scheduling calls• updating account information• more

so you can focus on more valuable activities.

Companies who utilize automation are able to reallocate their time away from clerical duties and focus it on other value-added tasks. 

According to this study by PayStream Advisors, automation allows collectors to spend 3X more time talking with customers about payment than those who use traditional methods.

Which Leads To…

•10% to 20% reductions in days sales outstanding (DSO)

•25% reductions in past due receivables

•15% to 25% reductions in bad debt reserves

•ROI in as little as 2 months

So, what’s stopping youfrom getting paid

on time?

image

Visit our resource center to learn more B2B invoice collection best practices, access helpful white papers, and watch educational webinars .

Click here to get started